Just wondering if anyone has heard of a similar injury and the prognosis. This horse is getting excellent care, on its way to the first vet appointment the owner could get.
Tall lanky mature gelding. Came in from the pasture with a limp on the left hind. No swelling or punctures . Very poor footing due to the crazy weather. Slippery mud/ice/water.
Next day slight swelling to the lower leg. No evidence of pain to the touch for lower leg and joints. Swelling in groin area.extreme reluctance to flex upper leg. Hock feels clean and no swelling. Figured it was a muscle strain from tricky footing. Ordered rest in a small corral. Pain killers. Looked at by an equine injury therapist who was out. Suggested 4 weeks of rest and keep an eye on it.
Next day swelling in the whole leg. Very reluctant to bear weight at all. Vet appointment booked.
Possibly stocked up with confinement that when in the pasture he was able to walk down some of the now settling swelling.
It is said that movement helps.... That though must be with vet approval that movement is advantageous to the horse.
I would equate what happens in humans can happen to our horses...
Pull something or hurt it it is sore the first day, the second day you feel like you been put through the ringer and hit by a truck with aches and pains and now swollen...
Some support of pain reliever and or anti-inflammatory agent, ice and elevation {wraps in this case}.....
When is that vet appointment???
So I have to ask...
"Looked at by an equine injury therapist who was out".....
What exactly is this and what kid of medical degree do they have?
Chiro, dvm... :think:...physical therapist licensed for horses???:confused_color:
It is a term I am unfamiliar with. :sad:
So not recognizing the profession I also don't know what they do so could you help me by explaining what it is they do.. thanks.
:runninghorse2:.....
Added...I was typing while you were writing...
Unless I was sure of the persons credentials...positive of their schooling and course of study... Sorry, she would not be making a diagnosis or touching my injured horse...
I need to clarify what exactly schooling this person has. The owner knows and trusts this person, and has used them before on injured horses with success.
This is not my horse
The owner was not using this person in place of a vet. They just were asking an opinion. As soon as it started to look more serious the vet was called.
I'm not asking for critiques on the owners choice of care. It's irrelevant speculation. I was simply asking if anyone had heard of a similar injury.
I need to clarify what exactly schooling this person has. The owner knows and trusts this person, and has used them before on injured horses with success.
I still am wondering though what does a equine injury therapist do???
I just have not heard of the profession before and am wondering what do they do....
Do they have a degree in something? :-?.....
Sometimes school of life is a better "degree" than something received from college or university in application of a useful trade....
I just have not heard the "title" of this persons line of work before and wondered what kinds of work they do...:shrug:
I would not speculate on the kind of injury this horse has acquired or not....
I amnot a vet nor can I see the animal "live" to watch movement, touch the area and or see the conditions of the area the horse came out of to try to make a guesstimate....
In a case like this I would be cautious of comparing a injury I knew of to one I know nothing of how it came to be.
Hoping it is a non-incident in importance a few days rest takes care of...
:runninghorse2:.... jmo....
I wasn't getting the impression of a diagnosis. Just a "here's what I would do as things currently stand".. I don't think "rest and keep an eye on it" is jumping the gun on credentials.
I wanted to add that I would not expect a sprain to swell that much, could be wrong but doesn't seem like something that would. I'm guessing the lower leg swelling was some "drainage" from higher up/stocking up but the higher up swelling sounds odd to me, also that from the sounds of it his leg blew up the next day. Whole leg is pretty extreme. What is small corral? It sounds like he is still moving around plenty just not regular turnout?
I'm glad he's seeming better but I'd be pretty worried and have the vet out asap. I also meant to ask when the appointment was.
what day is the vet coming? The sooner the better.
This could be anything, including cellulitis. Have the owner ask the vet about it.
It is entirely possible the horse had an open wound somewhere, under all that winter hair, it got infected and the result is cellulitis.
The horse could have even sliced something open on jagged ice, it went unnoticed and infection sat in.
It could be a combination of a muscle injury and something else.
In the meantime, keep the horse isolated and if your weather permits, cold hose the leg 2Xday. If it's too cold for that, since it isn't likely anyone has ice leggings, there is nothing to do but keep the horse isolated, give it some Bute, put some MSM in the feedpan and wait for the vet.
I would not ask the horse to do any type of forced exercising until the vet looks at it. Let the horse move on its own.
My last thought is ugly and I hope way off the mark but, I hope it didn't fall and fracture something ----- don't say that to the owner:sad:
I'm so sorry I forgot to update this. It ended up being lymphasitis. He ended up with two drainage holes opening on the inside of the swollen leg. Extensive drainage for a week, and he has since made a full recovery. He was put on a strong course of intermuscular antibiotics.
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